COMMERCIAL SPONGES 745 



Turkey Cup and Turkey Solid Sponges. These and the kind next described 

 are also known as "silk" sponges. They are the finest and softest, one of the most 

 elastic sponges known to the markets, and notwithstanding their delicate texture 

 are very durable. Some of them are massive; but many are more or less cup- 

 shaped, though perfect cups are rare and bring high prices. It is said that large, 

 unusually choice specimens have sold for $50.00 each. 



The oscula or vents are comparatively large and numerous, and are grouped 

 on the upper surface of the solids or in the cavity of the cups. There are numerous 

 small round or polygonal pores on the general surface, the partitions between 

 them being very thin and beset with long slender and very soft fibrous pencils. 

 Foreign bodies in the fibers are sparse and this, with the rather open elongate 

 meshes of the microscopic structure, give the sponge its exquisite softness and 

 firmness. 



These sponges come from the eastern Mediterranean, the very finest from the 

 Syrian coast. It is stated that the best of them grow in the semidarkness of caves, 

 crevices, and under overhanging ledges. They sometimes attain a diameter of 

 8 inches, but most of those reaching the market measure only a few inches across. 

 They are used for the more exquisite purposes of the toilet. 



Turkey Toilet Sponges. Most of these sponges belong to a zoological subspecies 

 di£Fering from the preceding, but some inferior Turkey solids are often included 

 in this commercial class. They are flatter than the cup sponges, and have a broader 

 basal attachment to the rocks. The vents are usually distributed over the upper 

 surface, except toward the edge, and are sometimes in groups. Generally each is 

 surrounded by a rampart of bristles. The sxarfaces, other than those bearing these 

 openings, are perforated by numerous fine pores, the intervening ridges have 

 sharper edges than in the cup sponges, and the pencils of fibers which they bear 

 are shorter, stouter, and stifi^er. The sponge is less compressible and not so soft 

 to the touch. Toilet sponges are generally found on all the sponge grounds of the 

 Mediterranean, eastward from the Adriatic and the Tunisian littoral. They are 

 used for toilet purposes, in leather dressing, and in applying glaze to fine pottery, 

 as well as for other operations in the arts which require a fine soft sponge. 



Zimocca Sponge. These are massive sponges, usually flatly conical. They are 

 attached by a relatively small base, sometimes flat on top, sometimes concave, 

 occasionally cup-shaped. The vents lie on the upper surface, usually generally 

 distributed, but occasionally in irregular, radial rows, and in many cases sur- 

 rounded by a hedge of bristly fibers. The outer surface is formed by a network 

 of narrow ridges, inclosing numerous small pores and bearing short bundles of 

 fibers which become longer and softer upward. 



These sponges are taken commercially along the coasts and about the islands 

 of the Mediterranean, from the Adriatic eastward and southward and westward 

 to Tunisia and the banks of Lampedusa. They have been taken in small quantities 

 west of this region to the coast of Catalonia. 



They are used by potters, leather workers, and, when bleached, for toilet 

 purposes. 



Honeycomb or Bath Sponges. These are massive cake-shaped sponges attached 

 by a broad base. The vents are scattered over the upper part of the sponge, and 

 only occasionally are surrovmded by a hedge of fibers. The surface is composed of 

 superficially expanded plates of fibrous tissue, often extending as a network over 



